If you're frustrated with the time it takes your Windows PC to boot and then it seems to be running slowly you may have too many programs running at start-up - and have come to the right place to identify them. This is the original startup programs (as opposed to processes/tasks) list - one of the most comprehensive and most accurate!
"Name or Startup Item" in the table below refers to how an entry is displayed in MSConfig, Windows Defender or the registry "Run" keys. "Command or Data" refers to the program the entry runs. For further information on this and how to identify and disable startup programs please visit the Startup Content page.
For further information on random startup entries please visit the Startup Info page. For the next few months and foreseeable future I'll be verifying many of the Y, U, N & ? entries via virtual machines. If you can verify/identify those entries with a "?" status (especially hardware specific - such as laptops and motherboards) then please E-mail me (address at bottom of the page) or use the new Message Board.
Last update :- 31st August
21939 items listed
"Status" key:
- "Y" - Normally leave to run at start-up
- "N" - Not required or not recommended - typically infrequently used tasks that can be started manually if necessary
- "U" - User's choice - depends whether a user deems it necessary
- "X" - Definitely not required - typically viruses, spyware, adware and "resource hogs"
- "?" - Unknown
Variables:
- %System% - refers to the System folder; by default this is C:\Windows\System (9x/Me), C:\Winnt\System32 (NT/2K), or C:\Windows\System32 (XP/Vista)
- %Windir% - refers to the Windows installation folder; by default this is C:\Windows (9x/Me/XP/Vista) or C:\Winnt (NT/2K)
- %UserProfile% - refers to the current user's profile folder; by default this is C:\Documents and Settings\ (NT/2K/XP) or C:\Users\ (Vista)
- %ProgramFiles% - refers to the Program Files folder; typically the path is C:\Program Files
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| Name or Startup Item | Status | Command or Data | Description | Tested? |
|---|
| Ashampoo HDD Control Guard | U | HDDControlGuard.exe | Part of Ashampoo® HDD Control from Ashampoo GmbH & Co. KG - a hard drive monitoring utility which also incorporates defragmentation and cleaners for browsing history and unnecessary files. This entry loads the Ashampoo HDD Control Guard component on startup which runs in the background and monitors the hard drives and provides System Tray access | Yes |
| Ashampoo Magical Defrag | U | aDefragCtrl.exe | System Tray access to the main user interface for Ashampoo® Magical Defrag from Ashampoo GmbH & Co. KG - which "runs in the background as a service, defragmenting when necessary to keep the hard disk tidy" | Yes |
| Ashampoo Magical Optimizer Taskplaner | U | AMO_TA~1.EXE | Part of Ashampoo® Magical Optimizer from Ashampoo GmbH & Co. KG - which removes stagnant and unnecessary hard drive files, deletes Internet tracks and streamlines the registry by erasing invalid and orphaned entries. The Taskplaner automates this system optimization according to the user defined schedule and gives System Tray access to the main program | Yes |
| Ashampoo Magical Optimizer Taskplaner | U | AMO_Taskplaner.exe | Part of Ashampoo® Magical Optimizer from Ashampoo GmbH & Co. KG - which removes stagnant and unnecessary hard drive files, deletes Internet tracks and streamlines the registry by erasing invalid and orphaned entries. The Taskplaner automates this system optimization according to the user defined schedule and gives System Tray access to the main program | Yes |
| ashampoo Magical UnInstall | N | MagicalUnInstall.exe | Ashampoo® Magical UnInstall from Ashampoo GmbH & Co. KG - which monitors each new program installation, saving a log of the current configuration and using this as a reference to completely uninstall it if you chose to do so at a later date | Yes |
| Ashampoo PopUpBlocker | U | PopUpKiller.exe | Ashampoo popup blocker, part of Magical Security (was Privacy Protector Plus) | No |
| ashampoo UnInstaller Watcher | N | UIWatcher.exe | Part of the Ashampoo® UnInstaller series from Ashampoo GmbH & Co. KG - including UnInstaller Platinum 2, UnInstaller 3 and UnInstaller 4. These monitor and record program installations and allows you to remove them completely, so that no trace is left. This is the installion monitor that sits in the System Tray and detects the launch of installation programs | Yes |
| ashAvast | Y | ashAvast.exe | Part of Avast antivirus | No |
| ashcap | X | servirsess.exe | SpySure spyware | No |
| ashDip.exe | X | ashDip.exe | Added by the DROPR-CZ TROJAN! | No |
| ashDisp | Y | ashDisp.exe | System Tray access to and notifications for the version 4.* series of antivirus products from avast! - giving left-click access to the On-Access Scanner, right-click access to other options and event notifications | Yes |
| ashDsp.exe | X | ashDsp.exe | Added by a variant of the SDBOT WORM! | No |
| ASHLT | X | Ashlt.exe | Ashlt adware | No |
| ashMaiSv | Y | ashmaisv.exe | E-mail scanning part of avast! Antivirus. Starts via a registry "Run" key on Windows 98/Me and as a service on Windows 2K/XP/Vista | No |
| Asia | X | easm.exe | PurityScan adware | No |
| Asicfc | X | icfca.exe | Added by the AGENT.AAJE WORM! | No |
| AsioReg | U | regsvr32.exe ctasio.dll | ASIO (Audio Stream In/Out) drivers for the SoundBlaster Audigy 2 series soundcards - for recording and home project studios. Required if you use this functionality | No |
| AsioThk32Reg | U | rregsvr32.exe ctasio.dll | ASIO (Audio Stream In/Out) drivers for the SoundBlaster Audigy 2 series soundcards - for recording and home project studios. Required if you use this functionality | No |
| ASK | U | rundll32.exe [path] ASK.dll rdl | Stealth Keylogger keystroke logger/monitoring program - remove unless you installed it yourself! Note that rundll32.exe is a legitimate Microsoft file used to launch DLL file types and shouldn't be deleted | No |
| asl | X | Aslru.exe | Added by the BANCOS-CU TROJAN! | No |
| ASM | U | ASMonitor.exe | Active Security Monitor from AOL - helps you determine how vulnerable your PC is to computer viruses, spyware and other dangers and learn what steps you can take to improve your protection | No |
| Asmw Soft Popups Burner | U | popups burner.exe | Popup blocker, part of Asmw Soft PC Optimizer | No |
| asnconsole | X | msasn.exe | Added by the RBOT.EVU TROJAN! | No |
| ASocksrv | X | SocksA.exe | Added by the VB.CBW WORM! | No |
| asp-srvc | X | asp-srvc.exe | Added by the AGOBOT-KG WORM! | No |
| ASP.NET State Service | X | csrss.exe | Added by the DLOADER-QI TROJAN! Note - this is not the legitimate csrss.exe process which is always located in %System% and should not normally figure in Msconfig/Startup! This one is located in %Windir% | No |
| ASP.NET State Service | X | crsass.exe | Added by the BANLOAD-M TROJAN! | No |
| ASP.NET State Service | X | servicos..exe | Added by the DADOBRA-I TROJAN! | No |
| asp4tray | N | asp4tray.exe | System Tray application for Aureal Vortex based soundcards. Can be run manually via Start -> Settings -> Control Panel | No |
| AspireService | ? | AspireService.exe | Found on Acer laptops, the process name for this entry is "Win32 Service for Control Board and Remote Control" and it's part of Acer eMode Management. What does it do and is it required? | No |
| AspireTimeMachine | Y | acertmb.exe | System recovery software supplied with some Acer notebook PCs. Similar to GoBack and the restore program in WinXP, allowing you to restore a PC back to a working state with minimal re-entry | No |
| ASpyC | X | ASpyC.exe | AntiSpyCheck rogue spyware remover - not recommended, removal instructions here | No |
| asr64_ldm.exe | X | asr64_ldm.exe | Added by the Dr. Guard rogue security software - not recommended, removal instructions here | No |
| asrupdate.exe | X | asrupdate.exe | Added by the VB.ATZ TROJAN! | No |
| Ass and titties | X | CMD32.EXE | Added by the SDBOT-GG BACKDOOR! | No |
| assistse | X | ASSISTSE.EXE | CnsMin (Chinese Keywords) hijacker related | No |
| AST | X | AST | Added by the VB.AH TROJAN! | No |
| AST | X | AST.exe | AutoStarter parasite
| No |
| ASTART | U | astart.exe | ASUS TweakEnable - restores manually changed settings for ASUS based video cards such as overclocking. Only required if you use non-standard settings | No |
| AStart | X | AStart | Added by the VB.AH TROJAN! | No |
| asTray | N | Astray.exe | Voyetra Audio Station - part of Voyetra's Ultimate MP3 & CD Manager. MP3 and digital music jukebox/organizer | No |
| Astro | N | Astro.exe | Checks for updates to Quicken on a system reboot | No |
| Astrum | X | Astrum.exe | Astrum Antivirus Pro rogue security software - not recommended, removal instructions here | No |
| asus | X | asus.exe | Added by the RBOT-OC WORM! | No |
| ASUS Camera ScreenSaver | ? | ASScrProlog.exe | Either a valid program on some ASUS laptops - such as the F3 and F5 series or unsafe, according to PREVX and InCode Solutions. Can any ASUS owners with this file confirm? File is located in %Windir% | No |
| ASUS Live Update | N | ALU.exe | ASUS Live Update utility for their motherboards | No |
| ASUS Probe | N | AsusProb.exe | ASUS video card fan/thermal monitor - only required if you overclock your card or live in a hot area | No |
| ASUS Screen Saver Protector | ? | ASScrPro.exe | Either a valid program on some ASUS laptops - such as the F3 and F5 series or unsafe, according to PREVX and InCode Solutions. Can any ASUS owners with this file confirm? File is located in %Windir% | No |
| ASUS SmartDoctor | U | VGAProbe.exe | ASUS video card fan/thermal monitor | No |
| ASUS TweakEnable | U | astart.exe | ASUS TweakEnable - restores manually changed settings for ASUS based video cards such as overclocking. Only required if you use non-standard settings | No |
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The following files are available for people developing mirrors of the site and using the information presented here:
Startup XML File - Startup INI File - Startup HTML File
For IE users, right-click on the link and select "Save Target As..." - note that for the INI and HTML files the suggested filename will be "startuplist.htm" and you'll have to rename them "startuplist.ini" and "startuplist.html" respectively.
For Firefox users, I recommend downloading the zipped versions from here. Otherwise, you'll have to open the file and save it - which can take a long time due to the size.
NOTE: These downloads are password protected and free to anyone producing a mirror or free utility. If you produce a commercial/shareware utility please contact me to discuss options. If you don't fall into any of these categories and want to download any of these files you will need to either make a donation of $15/year or more via PayPal (or E-mail me) and you will be provided with the login details which will change at the beginning of each year. The donation will go towards researching new and existing entries for the database and creating these files. Since making these files available for download they've been available free of charge and downloaded thousands of times. I believe they are unique as to my knowledge, no similar site offers such a resource as the lists they offer are on-line only.
DISCLAIMER: It is assumed that users are familiar with the operating system they are using and comfortable with making the suggested changes. I will not be held responsible if changes you make cause a system failure.
NOTE: This is NOT a database of tasks/processes taken from Task Manager or the Close Program window (CTRL+ALT+DEL) but a database of startup applications, although you will find some of them listed via this method. Pressing CTRL+ALT+DEL identifies programs that are currently running - not necessarily at startup. For a list of tasks/processes you should try the Process Library from Uniblue, the list at PC Pitstop or one of the many others now available. Therefore, before ending a task/process via CTRL+ALT+DEL just because it has an "X" recommendation, please check whether it's in MSConfig or the registry first. An example would be "svchost.exe" - which doesn't appear in either under normal conditions but does via CTRL+ALT+DEL. If in doubt, don't do anything.
To avoid the database becoming too large, all virus entries are only shown using the registry version which is common to all Windows versions. Otherwise there would be multiple entries for popular filenames that viruses often use - such as "svchost" above for example. Multiple viruses can also use the same startup entries, in this case only those with significant differences (such as file location) are repeated in this database.
NOTE : There are a number of virus and malware entried listed in this database where specific removal instructions haven't been given. If this is the case then you could try SDFix, a program written by AndyManchesta that can remove many different types of Trojans and Worms. See here for a tutorial on how to use the program and here for the latest ReadMe file detailing the fixes included.
IMPORTANT: A number of entries are repeated due to the way that different operating systems display startup items. For example, WinMe lists "POPROXY.EXE" as "Norton eMail Protect" in both MSCONFIG and the registry whereas WinXP lists it as "Poproxy" in MSCONFIG and "Norton eMail Protect" in the registry.
RECOMMENDATIONS:
If you're looking for a startup manager then why not try WinPatrol (by BillP Studios) or Advanced SystemCare Free (by IObit) - both include the option to search this database for a particular entry. Alternatively try Spybot - Search & Destroy (by Safer Networking Ltd) as the startup programs section (select the Advanced mode) includes descriptions from this database. You might also want to try their RunAlyzer and FileAlyzer tools.
There are an ever increasing number of rogue applications appearing these days and many of the removal guides referenced in this database use MalwareBytes Anti-Malware (which now incorporates the now discontinued RogueRemover).
As there are more than 10,000 entries in this database related to viruses, trojans, worms and other malware I recommend you use a quality internet security package. Which ever you choose, keep it updated.
Presentation, format & comments Copyright © 2001 - 2010 Paul Collins
Portions Copyright © Peter Forrest, Denny Denham, Sylvain Prevost, Tony Klein, CastleCops & Bleeping Computer
Database creation and support by Patrick Kolla
Software support by John Mayer
All rights reserved